Crime & Safety
Violent Crime Was Up in Joliet in 2013: FBI Report
The data tracks crimes reported in the first half of 2013 compared with the previous year.
The FBI last week released its preliminary semiannual uniform crime report, tracking the number of violent crimes reported in the first six months of 2013 compared with a year earlier.
In the first half of 2013, crime was up in Joliet, according to the data.
The report tracks offenses reported to law enforcement in cities with populations of 100,000 and over. Joliet's population is just shy of 150,000.
Between January and June of last year, FBI data shows that 286 violent crimes were reported in Joliet — up from 239 reported the previous year.
The number of murders doubled, with six reported homicides in the first six months of 2013 compared to three in 2012. The 2013 number includes the grisly double murder of 22-year-olds Terrance Rankins and Eric Glover at a home on Hickory Street on Jan. 10, 2013.
The number of reported rapes nearly doubled as well, with 20 in the first half of 2013 compared with 11 during the same months in 2012.
The number of robberies was also up, with 82 reports compared with 46 in 2012, according to the FBI.
The number of aggravated assaults dropped ever so slightly to 178, compared with 179 a year earlier. Property crime was also down, with 1,501 reports in 2013 compared to 1,840 in 2012.
There were 355 burglaries reported during the first six months of 2013, compared with 421 a year earlier, and 1,086 thefts, down down from 1,356 the previous year. Vehicle thefts were also down slightly, with 60 reports compared with 63 in 2012.
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